jbud73

Please explain to me, in great detail, how each of the above statements is false. Well great detail should not be necessary. You stated that pressing has made you less than 5K over the past year, but the point is that it has made you money, so by definition you have made money. Pressing has the ability to improve the technical grade of a comic and thereby increase its value, I'd call that a pretty significant effect in the context of the HG slab market given the established multiple differentials between 9.2 - 9.8.

I can't speak for SOT, but... 1) I do not play the crack, press and re-slab game. 2) I certainly don't own a press, so I have never received any money for my pressing service - which is non-existent. 3) I do not generally have books pressed for resale (though I have on a couple of occasions where I knew that a pressing on a raw book would result in a significantly different CGC grade due to a specific set of CGC grading criteria). I will say that pressing, in and of itself has probably netted me less that $5,000 in profit over the last year, against $500,000 in back issue sales through my business and any auction houses I've consigned to. Pressing is not a money making thing to me. So eliminate that from your argument. I just do not think pressing, in and of itself, when done correctly, has any effect on a comic book other than making it flat. My point was that anyone who derives financial benefit from comic manipulation has a conflict of interest and increased position of hypocrisy when it comes to commenting on the overall effect of said manipulation on the hobby. The amount of that conflict may or may not be equal to the amount of financial benefit, however I would argue that amount has minimal relevance, someone guilty of insider trading is still an inside trader, the amount of revenue derived from the trading is not as relevant as the act itself. I will agree that my reduction, or even further the overall reduction of Gene, Tim and I from the HG market has had no effect on the hobby as a whole. The lament is not, "well i no longer buy a lot of HG slabs, so HG slabs must be a sucker's game." My point is that if you are buying comic X for amount Y, you should know what is possibly occurring to comic X before spending amount Y. Further, for those that say "its not a big deal", or there's nothing to see here", consider the source of where that argument is coming from and the reasoning for the position articulated. If that argument comes from entities that have financial incentives tied to the manipulations in question, then yes those opinions are potentially suspect if not hypocritical in nature. So you are saying specifically that I am a hypocrite for arguing that pressing has no bearing on whether or not I will buy a comic for my collection simply because I also sell comics for a living. I didn't end that statement with a question mark because there is no question as to what you are saying. Well, it is obvious that money is the sole factor in your reason for backing off from the high grade slab market. Your fear of losing money (or not making enough on your purchase) is a financial one. So I guess I need to take your explanation with a grain of salt as well. I'm saying that your statement, "pressing is not a money making thing for me is false" and that pressing has "no other effect on a comic other than making it flat" is also false. In my statements I indicated that manipulation may or may not change buying and selling habits in a number of ways. Jeff indicates he has not been effected, others have in minimal to large ways. The core argument being that collectors need to be aware of the manipulation occurring in the HG slab market to make informed decisions and be wary of those entities that would seek to limit or down play the tactics on the hobby as a whole, or consider their reasons for doing so. In terms of being a hypocrite; I'd say that the fact that you profit from pressed books certainly limits your ability to be objective in the overall argument on buying them. In terms of my participation in the market, its not about money as a lone factor, its about the utility of a number of factors in combination. For a collector that buys in accumulation rather than sells overwhelmingly, or buys and sells in equal frequency the factors and underpinnings of purchasing differ greatly. To say that my motivation is purely monetary (in terms of not making enough on a purchase) when your frequency of purchase to sale out weights mine by a large factor (I've sold one HG slab in the last 5 years), now that is hypocritical.

I can't speak for SOT, but... 1) I do not play the crack, press and re-slab game. 2) I certainly don't own a press, so I have never received any money for my pressing service - which is non-existent. 3) I do not generally have books pressed for resale (though I have on a couple of occasions where I knew that a pressing on a raw book would result in a significantly different CGC grade due to a specific set of CGC grading criteria). I will say that pressing, in and of itself has probably netted me less that $5,000 in profit over the last year, against $500,000 in back issue sales through my business and any auction houses I've consigned to. Pressing is not a money making thing to me. So eliminate that from your argument. I just do not think pressing, in and of itself, when done correctly, has any effect on a comic book other than making it flat. My point was that anyone who derives financial benefit from comic manipulation has a conflict of interest and increased position of hypocrisy when it comes to commenting on the overall effect of said manipulation on the hobby. The amount of that conflict may or may not be equal to the amount of financial benefit, however I would argue that amount has minimal relevance, someone guilty of insider trading is still an inside trader, the amount of revenue derived from the trading is not as relevant as the act itself. I will agree that my reduction, or even further the overall reduction of Gene, Tim and I from the HG market has had no effect on the hobby as a whole. The lament is not, "well i no longer buy a lot of HG slabs, so HG slabs must be a sucker's game." My point is that if you are buying comic X for amount Y, you should know what is possibly occurring to comic X before spending amount Y. Further, for those that say "its not a big deal", or there's nothing to see here", consider the source of where that argument is coming from and the reasoning for the position articulated. If that argument comes from entities that have financial incentives tied to the manipulations in question, then yes those opinions are potentially suspect if not hypocritical in nature.

Jeff, I'm not going talk directly for Tim and Gene, but having posted as discussed this with them before the actual manipulation tactic is 'secondary' its not about pressing it could be anything really, and its not about an elitist mentality either. The concept would apply equally if I was buying a 9.4 book that 'used' to be a 9.6 when there were 9.8s in the census. The problem, or gut feeling if you will is tied to UTILITY, how much something cost you verses how much value and total satisfaction you derived from that purchase (inclusive of nostalgia, prestige, artistic appreciation, and so on). The DD 11 that opened my eyes all those years ago is a Utopian example of comic manipulation tactics &*^%$# spooning with your UTILITY vibe. The book sells for approx. 400 in 9.4, gets pressed and other potential treatment, and then is valued and sells for 1100. This is where a lot (not a majority or most) but a lot of people have their utility derailed. You may buy something at 400 and be happy with your purchase, you may also but something at 1100 and be equally happy more or less with your purchase. BUT, if you buy something at 1100 that only a month ago was valued at 400 in the market and nothing about the book changed EXCEPT for a numeric grade on the label; most people will suffer a loss of Utility about their purchase. I'll even take it one step further, as the concept of utility is all encompassing to a certain point. Mr. Bedrock mentioned that he has an issue with those who view the HG market as tainted, that it's disingenuous. Here is why his comment is to my mind disingenuous; comic manipulation makes him and SOT $$$$, there may be more HG examples for people to buy, but there are more HG examples for them to SELL. More pointedly their margins go up if you consider the crack press and resubmit game, yet buyers are receiving inferior products (CGC is at its heart an image of consistency a GUARANTEE of propriety) that have been manipulated in a similar fashion as the DD 11 example. The results of UTILITY are different for every person, Bedrock and SOT make money on the practice and therefore their overall tolerance for it is positive and the threshold of utility is going to be greater. Others will at first be disgusted by it feel ripped off and then start doing it, if you cant beat them, join them is an old adage for a reason, it happens all the time. And finally other people will increase or decrease their spending dependent on how much the practice effects their over all enjoyment, or utility if you will. If you look at Gene, Tim and myself, I'd say we were collectors that followed a similar collecting style. We had relative means (though they spent more than I did) meaning that the total money spent as a portion of our income was significant enough to effect our decision - a person making 50 million for example is not going to have a high utility about a 10K purchase, though some will. We almost exclusively bought, over a 5 year span my ratio was 98% in terms of dollars spent to realized from selling. And finally we also have a relative intrinsic nostalgia for the purchases we made. If Gene wanted to maximize his $$$ well the stock market was a far better place for the dollars he spent and spends in comics. I'm sure Tim's money and energy was better spent in real estate or other pure business ventures in South Asia. In the end all of us are still involved in the hobby, Gene and I buy art and read trades (unfortunately I lasted longer in the HG slab buying game by a few years and have had to pay for it with how expensive OA is now), Tim has moved on from the HG DCs to other comics that I assume give him enjoyment but are such a small portion of his disposable income as to be unaffected by the "gut feeling" he established with the HG / High $$$ 10 cent DC slab market. This does not mean that the experience of person A,B,C on either side of the "fence" is the right one, there is, as always no right way to be involved in a hobby. Still I've always maintained that everyone should have the same chance to enjoy the hobby and in an unregulated market that needs to be accompanied by more information because what you don't know can hurt you. Comics aren't for kids anymore was an old slogan in the 80s and the comic collecting hobby, especially the HG slab portion is not for the uninformed either. There are a lot of tactics at play that, had I been discovering, or rediscovering the hobby circa 2010 I would want to know about and I think that flows true for the any person entering the hobby or currently in it, who wants to maximize their enjoyment of it. Again for the record I still buy the occasional HG slab, its just that my gut has a much harder time loosening my wallet than it did from 2002 - 2006.

As an indication of how much the shenanigans in this hobby have affected me, back in the day I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on HG slabs--annually. I now spend less than ten thousand dollars on HG slabs each year. Tim, hope all is well in HK. I know those that have scaled back, I know those who haven't or have increased buying. At the end of the day however all I want is for the collector to be educated; I've always believed that was a duty of me to fellow collectors. If there are people out there trying to manipulate books and still garner blue labels, and I will argue with anyone that this is a FACT. The only thing we can do is pass along the information publicly and have those who buy do with it what they will. The information is quite frankly this: A professionally graded comic in a CGC blue label may, or may not, have retained a consistent state of condition from the time it was printed and bound until the time it entered the slab. The possibility exists for the comic to have acquired defects and for those defects to be subsequently removed through direct manipulation, and have the comic still receive a blue label designation from CGC. As another aside, while I respect your decision to sell, I have to say that I really enjoyed seeing your HG DC SA Collection Tim. While I know you have the financial means the diligence with which you obtained those books is still the epitome of a collector. Hope all is well with my fellow forumites. (except Greggy)

Sure, he could be. But it bothers me when supa states unequivocally that Ewert is consigning books to CL. How does he know that? i think my reputation speaks for itself? What reputation? This: Most of your posts contain . If you know so much about everything, enlighten us unworthy peasants. Given supa's instrumental roles in bringing Dupcak's and Schreuder's criminal activities to light, I think he deserves more respect than a relative newcomer such as yourself realizes. However, having said that, I do think supa should provide SOME evidence to support such an emphastic statement. I don't think it's fair to expect Comiclink to vet every consignor to see if there's really someone else behind the curtain, but on the other hand if legitimate evidence is provided, then it would be Comiclink's responsibility to at least shut down any known accounts that Ewert is using. +1 Supa has done a lot of leg work over the years to inform collectors about some of the more unscrupulous tactics and vendors in the marketplace. As an aside I urge anyone reading these boards to go back and read the DD 11 threads, pay attention to the commentary of some of the established board members around here. There was definitely a anti "your just jealous that Ewert Does it again with HG comic books" deny deny deny to the end really. And of course the final rationalization, "we can't detect it" So even though the extent of all the manipulations FINALLY CAME TO LIGHT, the end result was that the marketplace took very minimal actions to ensure that comic manipulation (I'd say resto but that would see this thread go on for 500 pages) continued, or the vendors performing it ceased to operate. And really what can they really do? Like it or not HG comics are a pretty turbulent environment. The problem I have always had is the marketing of the serene image of, all these books in 9.6 are untouched, real survivors, when in reality people are pulling out everything they can get away with and still garner a blue label. The individuals who don't "drink the koolaid" or at least ask some common sense questions that call into question the tactics and business practices of comic vendors are dismissed as the vocal minority Well how about I vocally play devils advocate as someone who still buys HG slabs, though with everything we (I) have learned over the past few years that frequency has subsided. Some facts.... 1. So Jason Ewert sells mirco trimmed and pressed books. 2. His business model is profitable. 3. He gets caught selling pressed and trimmed books 4. CGC removes his vendor / dealer status. So now I ask, do these facts bar Ewert from entry to the marketplace as a dealer? Do they limit his manipulation tactics? The logical answer would be NO to point one and MAYBE to point two. I think Ewert is still submitting books to auction houses. His old EBAY auctions were probably the biggest victim of the scandal, meaning he probably relies on auction houses more now than when he was "doing it again" on EBAY. He is pressing books and maybe trimming them, I mean he got it by CGC once, seems to me trying it again is a good bet, refining your technique (if you believe CGC can 100% detect the old technique) and continue to make money in the marketplace. The bottom line is that comics are unregulated. It's not like a comic version of the Securities Commission exists. If you did something that made you money. If that something was frowned upon by the environment in which the money was made. If you were aware that is was frowned upon yet continued to do it. If you were caught doing it. If the consequences of being caught were minimal to non existing (its not like he had to even pay a fine). Would anyone with some common sense believe that you would cease to perform the act that made you money and had little to no adverse consequences?

Definitely time to bring this thread back to the top. Just got a new scanner working, so here is my newest Pedigree (bought a few months ago) just scanned.

(thumbs u Been looking for a Colan DD Splash for a while congrats on the acquisition.

Great page Chrom, glad to see you pick this up

9.0 Don't be hating trolladite

Well, my Heritage win showed up in the Mail today, its always a great day when a Perez NTT piece shows up and I couldn't be happier with this one from NTT #20.

Here are the Green Rivers from my collection, I have a few Boston copies as well that haven't been scanned, all are Raw

C'mon the Silver Samurai is not exactly going to change the Marvelverse. That's just

George Perez NTT x2 this week

Always a special day whenever a Perez NTT page shows up at the door, I am the proud new owner

Hey Felix, thanks. As for the Corben Hellblazer art, if memory serves I think his lone arc is the last arc before Azzarello, it could be Ennis stories actually as I thought Azza's arc were all Bradstreet / Frusin - but its been a while I will have to check. I do not own a Corben Hellblazer piece, though I wish that I did - In fact I have never even seen a Corben page from that arc. Its kind of the lost arc and until you mentioned it I forgot he drew for the series. As you are also probably only too aware, Richard Corben has a very loyal following and his art can be tough to come by. Should you locate a page, I'd love to see it, even if its hanging in your CAF with a NFS beside it Congrats on the BWS Weapon X page it is quite something (thumbs u

Was very happy to get this piece into my collection, as my Avatar would indicate I am a huge fan of John Constantine. This is the title splash to a great story arc by Azzarelo and Frusin, who did some great interior art for the series. Someone already owns the cover, so the title splash will have to do for now.

Well wear on this book really shows up so it can and can swap your opinion like any true black cover. Metro called this a 9.2 - I don't disagree, however it is NOT a 9.4. Its got really nice gloss and the inks and color pop out. The wear is not color breaking, BUT on this cover NCB wear tends to present almost as if it was color breaking wear if you know what I mean. I could see it come back in a 9.0 holder or a 9.2 holder if sent to CGC its a very tough call.

Been looking for a decent copy of this book for a bit so I thought I would post as it arrived today. Gil Kane + Picture Frame Marvel =

Always like that cover too - this is also IMO that last period where UXM was anything approaching a half decent book. Why I continue to buy it I have no idea.

Um, I have a question. Is there not a service that you can order 9.8 copies of moderns from, or has it been your experience that they are had cheaper on the after market?

One of my fav covers looks like a great copy (thumbs u I was really happy to pick up the WM Ped copy this year.